About two thirds of the 36 hospitals in the Gaza Strip are out of order
According to the UN, the war between Israel and the radical Islamist Hamas has paralyzed around two thirds of the 36 hospitals in the Gaza Strip. The hospitals in the city of Gaza, where Israeli ground troops are fighting against the Islamist Palestinian organization, are particularly affected.
The Israeli army and Hamas fighters fought heavy battles around the hospital for days until soldiers finally stormed the complex on Wednesday night. Israel suspects a Hamas command center in and under the hospital, which it accuses of abusing civilians as "human shields". On Wednesday evening, the army announced that weapons, military technology, intelligence material and a Hamas "operational headquarters" had been discovered in the clinic. The Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip denied this.
The Al Shifa Clinic in the western district of Rimal is the largest hospital in the Gaza Strip. It was built during the British Mandate in 1946 and has been repeatedly expanded. According to the World Health Organization, around 400 doctors and nurses work there; since the beginning of the war, around 3,000 civilians have sought shelter on the premises.
According to UN figures, at least 2,300 people were staying there at the end of the war - the sick, injured, refugees and medical staff. There was a lack of medical supplies, energy, water and food. Eyewitnesses reported terrible conditions and dead bodies that could not be buried.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) reported that important infrastructure at the clinic, including water tanks, equipment for the maternity ward and the medical oxygen store, had been damaged in the war. Three nurses were killed. According to the Hamas Ministry of Health, an Israeli air strike also destroyed the cardiology department.
The Al-Kuds hospital was opened in the early 2000s and has around one hundred beds. According to Ocha, up to 14,000 people have fled to the hospital grounds in recent weeks. According to the Palestinian Red Crescent, which runs the hospital, it ceased operations last Sunday. The fuel supplies for the generators were exhausted and there was no more water or food.
After more than ten days of siege, the hospital was evacuated to Chan Junis further south, the Red Crescent announced on Tuesday evening. On Monday, the Israeli army reported battles outside the hospital in which "21 terrorists" were killed.
The Al-Kuds hospital had already been hit by Israeli air strikes during the 2008/2009 war. The emergency room and other departments were rebuilt with French funds, among others.
The Indonesian hospital, which opened in 2015, was financed by Jakarta and is located in Jabaliya, the largest refugee settlement in the Gaza Strip. It has 110 beds. According to the Hamas government, Israeli bombardments killed at least 30 people in the hospital. According to Ocha, targets near the hospital were attacked on October 28 and 29.
Israel also suspects an underground Hamas command center at the Indonesian hospital, which Hamas denies. The army also presented satellite photos that allegedly show a Hamas rocket launch site about 75 meters from the hospital.
The UN expressed concern about the impact of the conflict, as around two-thirds of the 36 hospitals in the Gaza Strip were rendered non-functional. After the Al-Kuds hospital was evacuated, around 14,000 people had sought shelter within its premises. Details of the damage to the hospital and surrounding areas were reported by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha).
Source: www.ntv.de
